16.08.2018

The Mariinsky Theatre Closes its 2017/2018 Season

On 12 August, the Mariinsky Theatre closed its 2017/2018 season which ran for 48 weeks. The season concluded with a performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet-féerie The Sleeping Beauty by the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.

The 2018/2019 season will open on 10 September. The Mariinky II will host a performance of the 2017/2018 season premiere – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride – staged by Alexander Kuzin. The lead roles will be performed by Stanislav Trofimov (Vassily Sobakin), Angelina Akhmedova (Marfa), Alexei Markov (Grigory Gryaznoy), Mikhail Kolelishvili (Malyuta Skuratov), Ilya Selivanov (Ivan Lykov), and Yulia Matochkina (Lyubasha). The performance will be conducted by Valery Gergiev.
One of the first highlights of the new season is the Russian premiere of the Chinese composer Tang Jianping’s modern opera The Dawns Here Are Quiet after Boris Vasilyev’s novel of the same name. China’s largest music theatre, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), will perform the opera at the Mariinsky II (11 September and 12 September).
The Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre will open its season on 10 September with a recital of Daniil Trifonov, one of the most popular pianists of his generation, who won the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011 and a Grammy Award in 2018. The programme includes works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, and Sergei Prokofiev. On 11 September, the pianist will also appear in concert with the Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev. To be performed are Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.  5 and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6.
The historic stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will open its season on 29 September.

Summary of the 2017/18 season
• performances and concerts held at 11 venues: the historic building of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Concert Hall, the Mariinsky II and its four chamber venues, the Great and Chamber Halls of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre (Vladivostok), at the venues of the Mariinsky Theatre’s branch in Vladikavkaz, namely the State Philharmonic of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and the National State Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania;
• over 1415 performances and concerts given;
• spectators from 98 countries, including Australia, the US, Canada, Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, European, African and South American countries;
• 8 opera and 2 ballet premieres;
• 8 festivals in St Petersburg, the I International Caucasus Festival Mariinsky – Vladikavkaz, the X Music Festival To Mstislav Rostropovich in Samara, the XVII Moscow Easter Festival (which ran for 32 days and travelled not only all over Russia, but also to China, Germany, and Switzerland), and the III International Mariinsky Far East Festival in Vladivostok;
The Mariinsky Theatre for Children project: more than 100,000 young theatre-goers attended various performances and took part in cultural and educational events held at the Theatre in the 2017/2018 season;
• concerts by the fellows of the Atkins Young Artists Program and the project Sounds of Change with the TONALi Competition in Hamburg.

The Mariinsky Theatre on Tour
In the 2017/2018 season, the Mariinsky Theatre ensemble (the Mariinsky Opera, Ballet, Chorus, and Orchestra) gave on-tour performances in 22 countries: in more than 80 Russian cities and towns and over 65 cities outside Russia. Their major tours include Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra’s extensive tour which span across 13 cities of the US and Canada and included performances in the Asia-Pacific Region (in major cities of China, Japan, South Korea and in Vladivostok) and the concerts of the Moscow Easter Festival, which travelled all the way from Sevastopol to Vladivostok. The Theatre’s grand projects included a marathon of Modest Mussorgsky’s works at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, a cycle of all of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies in Switzerland, performances of Sergei Prokofiev’s monumental opera War and Peace staged by Andrei Konchalovsky at the Guangzhou Opera House and other projects.

After the closing of the 2017/2018 season, Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra will perform on tour in Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria.

Valery Gergiev also performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the  Orchestre national de France, the Filarmonica della Scala, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Pacific Music Festival (PMF) Orchestra, the Wiener Philharmoniker, and the Verbier Festival Orchestra. In 2018, Valery Gergiev became the Music Director of the latter ensemble. The Munich Philharmonic, headed by Valery Gergiev for the third season, has performed under his baton in Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands, China, Romania, and the US. As part of this collaboration, Munich hosted Valery Gergiev’s 360 Degrees festival for the third time. This year’s festival was dedicated to Igor Stravinsky.

Season premieres
• after a long break, the Concert Hall once again welcomed Hector Berlioz’s opera Benvenuto Cellini staged by Vasily Barkhatov (revival of the 2007 production);
• soloists of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers headed by Larisa Gergieva produced two productions: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comic opera Der Schauspieldirektor staged by Gleb Cherepanov at the historic stage; Joseph Haydn’s opera L’isola disabitata staged by Alexei Smirnov at the Concert Hall;
• premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Falstaff staged by Andrea De Rosa at the Mariinsky II opened the XXVI Music Festival Stars of the White Nights;
• the Festival also saw the premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride directed by Alexander Kuzin and the world premiere of Alexander Raskatov’s opera Eclipse (concert performance);
• the first ballet premiere of the season was Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Pétrouchka choreographed by Vladimir Varnava. The production helped mark 135 years since the birth of the composer;
• as part of the gala concert marking 200 years since the birth of Marius Petipa, Konstantin Keikhel premiered his new work The Seasons set to the music of Alexander Glazunov;
• as part of A Creative Workshop of Young Choreographers, Dmitry Pimonov, Olga Vasilieva, Andrei Merkuriev, Konstantin Keikhel, Maxim Petrov, and Ilya Zhivoi presented their projects;
• the subscription Short Operas for Children (aged 3 or older) saw the addition of Sergei Banevich’s opera Murych the Cat, while the subscription Short Operas for Children (aged 6 or older) added Rustam Sagdiev’s new work The Adventures of Kintaro.

Festivals
• the V International Organ Festival (16 September to 29 September) featured seven music programmes performed by musicians from Russia, Italy, France, the UK, and Poland, as well as a special event – an organ music concert for children;
• the I International Caucasus Festival Mariinsky – Vladikavkaz (23 September to 29 September) opened the first season of the Mariinsky Theatre’s branch in Vladikavkaz. The festival’s participants included the leading soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre and guest stars, such as the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble under the baton of Lorenz Nasturica-Herschcowici, Denis Matsuev, Lucas Debargue, Yuri Bashment, Maria Guleghina, Tatiana Serjan and many others;
• the X Music Festival To Mstislav Rostropovich took place in Samara on 15 October and 16 October. The Mariinsky Orchestra as well as famous and beginner musicians performed at the festival under the baton of Valery Gergiev;
• the XII Mariinsky International Piano Festival (14 December to 30 December) took place in St Petersburg as well as in Vladikavkaz, at the Mariinsky Theatre’s branch venue (for the first time). The participants included Sergei Babayan, Alexei Volodin, Abisal Gergiev, Andrei Gugnin, Lucas Debargue, Mira Yevtich, Eduard Kiprsky, Stephen Kovacevich, Konstantin Lifschitz, Nikolai Lugansky, Dmitry Masleev, Alexander Maslov, Denis Matsuev, Uki Ovaskainen, Pavel Raykerus, Ilya Rashkovskiy, Sergei Redkin, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Konstantin Shamrai, Zarina Shimanskaya, Nelson Freire, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Ramon van Engelenhoven, and Ramzi Yassa. The well-reputed projects such as A Composer and the Pianist and Children for Children once again proved themselves to be successful additions to the festival;
• the III International Festival Maslenitsa in Song (12 February to 18 February) attracted European choirs and ensembles from St Petersburg. The festival also featured opera performances and an a capella marathon;
• the Concert Hall and the chamber venues of the Mariinsky II hosted the II International Virtuosi of the Flute Festival (8 March to 12 March). The musicians of the Mariinsky Orchestra, the St Petersburg Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra, and various Moscow orchestras played flute music of different epochs and styles. The guest performers from abroad included Emmanuel Pahud and Egor Egorkin, the soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic. They took part in the concert programmes and organised master classes;
• the II International Harp Festival Northern Lyre (31 March to 6 April), which was a highlight of the previous season, gathered the best performers representing the St Petersburg harp school as well as musicians from Serbia, the US, and Estonia. Apart from concert programmes, the festival also featured master classes held by musicians from Serbia and the US;
• the XVII Moscow Easter Festival was one of the longest-running and largest in its history. It ran for 32 days (8 April to 9 May). Concerts of symphony, choral, chamber music and bell-ringing programmes took place at the key venues of Moscow and Russia’s regions. The Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev also performed in China, Germany, and Switzerland as part of the festival;
• the Mariinsky Theatre prioritizes support for young talents and thus organised two spring festivals for young musicians: the IV Mariinsky NEXT Children’s and Youth Orchestras Festival (29 April to 28 May) and the II Mariinsky for Children: Children at the Mariinsky Theatre Children’s Music Theatre Studios Festival (2 May to 8 May);
• the XXVI Music Festival Stars of the White Nights ran for 68 days (23 May to 29 July). The Mariinsky Theatre, the Mariinsky II, the Prokofiev Hall (Mariinsky II), and the Concert Hall saw more than 208 events, including three opera premieres;
• the III International Mariinsky Far East Festival (24 July to 8 August) took place at 8 concert venues of the Primorsky Region. The festival saw 26 events, seven of which were Far East premieres of various productions.

Marking 200 years since the birth Marius Petipa
In 2018, the Mariinsky Theatre marks 200 years since the birth of Marius Petipa, whose artistic career is closely intertwined with the St. Petersburg theatre. The Mariinsky Theatre prepared a diverse programme to celebrate the great choreographer’s birthday for the 2017/2018 season: presentations of classical productions with the participation of ballet stars at all of the theatre’s venues, premieres of new productions, grand gala concerts, special events, and concert tours. The repertoire of the historic stage of the Mariinsky Theatre and the Mariinsky II included a plethora of ballets, which have long been on the playbill and are carefully passed on from generation to generation: Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, La Bayadère, Paquita, Raymonda, and The Sleeping Beauty (not only Konstantin Sergeyev’s version, but also Sergei Vikharev’s reconstruction). The events marking 200 years since the birth of Marius Petipa were a major part of the ballet programme of the XXVI Music Festival Stars of the White Nights and were included into the programme of the III International Mariinsky Far East Festival in Vladivostok. The tour of the ballet company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre was also dedicated to Marius Petipa.
The Mariinsky II hosted a unique exhibition of original ballet costumes of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The exhibition also featured theatre props, repertoire books, photographs, playbills and other items from the Mariinsky Theatre archives. The Mariinsky Theatre has also prepared a digital exhibition, which is based on the exhibits of the Mariinsky Theatre archives and the collection of sketches of the St Petersburg State Theatre Library. The exhibition shows how Marius Petipa’s ballets transformed over the years and what changes were made to the choreographer’s productions. You can find the exhibition at the following link: www.mariinsky.ru/exhibitions/petipa200 Marius Petipa’s works will also be celebrated during the 2018/2019 season.

Tour performances at the Mariinsky Theatre
In the 2017/2018 season, the Mariinsky Theatre welcome ensembles from various cities and towns of Russia and 11 countries around the globe, including the US, China, Japan, Thailand, Finland, Estonia, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark, and Italy. The highlight of the season was the tour of the Mariinsky Theatre branches in St Petersburg. The ballet company of the Far East branch visited St Petersburg three times. In January, the Primorsky Stage performed the ballets Le Corsaire, Giselle, Carmen Suite, and Prodigal Son, while to mark 200 years since the birth of Marius Petipa they brought their own production of The Sleeping Beauty to St Petersburg. This production graced the playbill of the ensemble’s summer tour, which also featured such ballets as Le Corsaire and Giselle. Moreover, the Primorsky Stage’s opera production – Igor Stravinsky’s Mavra staged by Vyacheslav Starodubtsev – was performed at the XXVI Music Festival Stars of the White Nights. The St Petersburg theatre-goers also had a chance to see the productions of the National State Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (the Mariinsky Theatre’s branch in Vladikavkaz). The Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre saw a performance of the ballet The Picture of Dorian Gray to the music by Abel Korzeniowski, Murat Kabardokov, and Max Richter, while the historic stage hosted a performance of Khristof Pliev’s opera Kosta.

The following ensembles performed at the Mariinsky Theatre during the 2017/2018 season:
• the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra;
• the Andreyev State Russian Orchestra;
• Beijing Sunshine Art Delegation;
• Khon, Thai Mask Theatre;
• the Estonian National Opera;
• Collegium Vocale Gent;
• Peking Opera;
• Rastrelli Cello Quartet;
• the State Borodin Quartet;
• the Samara Opera and Ballet Theatre;
• the Moscow Soloists Chamber Ensemble»;
• the Symphonica ARTica Symphony Orchestra;
• Orchestra MusicAeterna;
• the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan;
• the Prague Philharmonic Choir;
• the St Petersburg TV and Radio Children’s Chorus and the Grand Popov Children’s Chorus;
I Vocalisti Chamber Choir;
• the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the North Caucasus State Safonov Philharmonic;
• the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra;
• the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra;
Esbjerg Ensemble;
• the jazz trio Fusion Point;
• the Tyumen Philharmonic Orchestra;
• the Treskatresk Quartet;
• the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic Orchestra;
• AUN J Classic Orchestra;
• Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden;
• Chorus Teatro Regio Torino;
• the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center;
• Orfeón Pamplonés;
• the China Philharmonic Orchestra.

Any use or copying of site materials, design elements or layout is forbidden without the permission of the rightholder.
user_nameExit